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TED Prize

The TED Prize is awarded annually to an exceptional individual who receives $100,000 and, much more important, “One Wish to Change the World.” After several months of preparation, the winner unveils his/her wish at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. Their talk hopefully sparks a powerful response from the TED Community who then pledges support to make the wish come true. These pledges can take the form of business services, hardware and software, publicity, infrastructure, advice, connections … Any and all pledges of support are welcomed. Major support for the TED Prize has come from AMD, Infosys, Amazon, Sun Microsystems, Razorfish, Hot Studio, Nokia, IDEO, Kleiner Perkins, @radicalmedia, Adobe and Photosynth. This is in addition to funding and support from the Sapling Foundation and TED staff.

These wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.

In 2009, Jill Tarter won the TED Prize and, in her words, wished "to empower Earthlings everywhere to become active participants in the ultimate search for cosmic company."

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California over 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, granting an exceptional individual a wish to change the world and the opportunity to put their wish into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.